Question: I have a question about electrical and what is possible, for a gift to my wife. I want to get her an infrared sauna, a really nice one that is both infrared and steam. This requires two 220 outlets and I don’t know if it is something that our home will accommodate. How would I be able to tell if I can make this purchase and it will ultimately work at our home? Any advice, please?
— Damien V.
Answer: Damien, nice gift! This is a job for a licensed and insured electrical contractor. Have the specs of the unit you are intending to purchase, available at the time the contractor meets with you at your home. They will check the electrical panel to see if there is enough power, plus make any options available to you regarding how they will run the power based on where you want the unit.
If you decide to move forward, they will begin the permit process with the city. This is a must — do not accept an incomplete project without permits. Safety is of utmost importance on such a project.
You can likely get the answers pretty quickly, but the process with permitting will take some time. Best of luck.
Robert Lamoureux has more than 40 years of experience as a general contractor, with separate licenses in electrical and plumbing contracting. He owns IMS Construction Inc. in Valencia. His opinions are his own, not necessarily those of The Signal. Opinions expressed in this column are not meant to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after that contractor has made a thorough visual inspection. Email questions to Robert at [email protected].
